- Feb 5, 2002
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As the nation plans to celebrate ‘LGBTQ’ inclusivity during ‘Pride Month,’ Muslim and Christian parents contend that their beliefs about family life and sexuality need to be respected.
ROCKVILLE, Md. — Amid a growing backlash against the adoption of “LGBTQ”-themed books for children in public-school classrooms, a group of Maryland parents just filed a federal lawsuit against the Montgomery County Board of Education, alleging it had improperly reversed its policy of allowing parents to opt their children out of sensitive reading materials.
“The basis of the legal challenge will start with the First Amendment, which protects the right of parents to direct the religious upbringing of their children,” William Haun, senior counsel for the Becket law group, a public interest group that filed the lawsuit on behalf of three Muslim and Christian families.
“That right has always included the ability to opt your children out of religiously objectionable curricula on sensitive matters going to the core of who a person [is] and what their religious beliefs are.”
Haun told the Register that the federal lawsuit will address the Montgomery School Board’s alleged violation of both its own policies and those of the state of Maryland.
“Like 32 other states nationwide, Maryland allows parental opt outs for family-life and human-sexuality instruction. Every parent in this case got an opt out from these ‘Pride’ story books, and then the school board decided without any explanation to flip the script,” he said.
Haun noted that the Montgomery Board of Education has continued to maintain opt-out provisions for other curriculum issues that pose concerns for religious parents and that the “Pride” books were the only exception to that rule. That inconsistency could trigger a higher standard of judicial review and so pose a greater challenge for the board to defend its position.
Continued below.
www.ncregister.com
ROCKVILLE, Md. — Amid a growing backlash against the adoption of “LGBTQ”-themed books for children in public-school classrooms, a group of Maryland parents just filed a federal lawsuit against the Montgomery County Board of Education, alleging it had improperly reversed its policy of allowing parents to opt their children out of sensitive reading materials.
“The basis of the legal challenge will start with the First Amendment, which protects the right of parents to direct the religious upbringing of their children,” William Haun, senior counsel for the Becket law group, a public interest group that filed the lawsuit on behalf of three Muslim and Christian families.
“That right has always included the ability to opt your children out of religiously objectionable curricula on sensitive matters going to the core of who a person [is] and what their religious beliefs are.”
Haun told the Register that the federal lawsuit will address the Montgomery School Board’s alleged violation of both its own policies and those of the state of Maryland.
“Like 32 other states nationwide, Maryland allows parental opt outs for family-life and human-sexuality instruction. Every parent in this case got an opt out from these ‘Pride’ story books, and then the school board decided without any explanation to flip the script,” he said.
Haun noted that the Montgomery Board of Education has continued to maintain opt-out provisions for other curriculum issues that pose concerns for religious parents and that the “Pride” books were the only exception to that rule. That inconsistency could trigger a higher standard of judicial review and so pose a greater challenge for the board to defend its position.
Continued below.
Maryland Parents Sue School Board for ‘Flipping the Script’ on ‘Pride’ Books Opt-Out Policy
As the nation plans to celebrate ‘LGBTQ’ inclusivity during ‘Pride Month,’ Muslim and Christian parents contend that their beliefs about family life and sexuality need to be respected.
